A four-fold surge in the number of people bringing knives to court in Aberdeen has been described as “worrying in the extreme”.
Incidents of knife possession at Aberdeen Sheriff Court soared from 12 in 2022 to 46 in the first three quarters of 2024. The Scottish Courts and Tribunal Service says it “takes the safety of all court users very seriously.”
North-east MSP Liam Kerr, the Scottish Conservative shadow justice secretary said: “This stratospheric rise in the number of knives coming into our courtrooms is worrying in the extreme.
“Knife crime is still a big problem and Scotland’s justice system needs to be tougher to stop this from happening. Staff, witnesses and victims of crime need to feel safe when they come to court.
“It is good the safeguards are there, and plainly staff are doing a very good job at stemming the tide. But it’s difficult for them because the SNP don’t properly resource the courts, don’t sufficiently get the message out that it is unacceptable and they will be caught, and don’t make sure that there are serious consequences for those who try it.
“The Scottish Conservatives would make sure our courts service has the resources they need and aggressively target those who put peoples’ safety at risk.”
In 2022-23, 23 of the 30 homicide victims in Scotland were killed with a knife.
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Justice Secretary Angela Constance said: “Safety within Scotland’s courts is hugely important as shown by the seizure rate.
“While of little comfort to victims, violent crime is down by 58% since 2008-09. Recorded crime at one of the lowest levels since 1974 and violence-related hospital admissions, knife-carrying, homicide rates and anti-social behaviour are all down over the long term.
“Through our Violence Prevention Framework we are working with partners on actions to prevent and divert people away from violence, backed by investment of more than £4 million over the past two years.
“The Scottish Government takes knife crime extremely seriously, which is why we fund YouthLink Scotland’s No Knives, Better Lives programme and the work of the Scottish Violence Reduction Unit to help address knife crime.”